The Bombay High Court (HC) strongly criticised the Maharashtra government on Monday, May 26, for the arrest and rustication of a 19-year-old female engineering student, over a social media post critical of Operation Sindoor, ordering her immediate release, reported India Today.
A bench led by Justice Gauri Godse, while hearing the student’s plea, condemned the state’s decision to arrest her and rusticate her from college.
The second-year student from Sinhgad Academy of Engineering in Pune, affiliated with Savitribai Phule Pune University, is currently detained in Yerwada Central Prison.
Justice Godse said, "What is this? You are ruining the life of a student? What kind of conduct this is? Somebody expresses something you want to ruin the life of the student? How can you rusticate? Did you call upon an explanation?"
The student, in her plea, described her rustication as “arbitrary and unlawful,” according to a report by LiveLaw. Her advocate, Farhana Shah, sought an urgent hearing, highlighting the student’s ongoing semester exams, and arguing that her liberty had been unjustly taken. The court rejected the college counsel’s suggestion that she appear for exams with police escorts, with Justice Godse stating, “She is not a criminal.”
The bench criticised the state’s approach, questioning the purpose of educational institutions, "What is the purpose of an educational institution? Is it only to educate academically? You need to reform a student or make a student into a criminal? We understand you want to take some action but you cannot refrain her from taking exams. Let her appear for the remaining three papers."
The student had reposted a social media comment on May 7, critical of the Indian government amid hostilities with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. She deleted the post within two hours but faced a barrage of threatening and abusive messages online. Her arrest and rustication followed, forcing her to legally take a step against the college and state authorities.
